SHANGHAI, Nov. 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The CNS-Yum China Dietary Health Foundation ("Foundation"), jointly established by Yum China Holdings, Inc. (the "Company" or "Yum China") (NYSE: YUMC) and the Chinese Nutrition Society, awarded research grants to seven initiatives which aim to improve the eating habits of Chinese people. A symposium convening scientists, scholars and experts was also held in Shanghai to discuss and share cutting-edge research in the spheres of nutrition, health, and dietary habits in China.

This year, the Foundation assessed over 100 applications and awarded research grants to seven flagship initiatives, including projects proposed by Huzhong Li of the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment and Weisheng Xu of the health and nutrition unit at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Joey Wat, President and Chief Operating Officer of Yum China, said, "As China's largest restaurant company, Yum China has always been committed to providing consumers with food that is both nutritious and delicious. We will continue to play an important role in advocating active, healthy lifestyles, and enhancing understanding of well-balanced diets in China."

Professor Xiaoguang Yang, Vice Chairman of the China Nutrition Society, expressed his gratitude to the team of experts led by Yum China, the Chinese Red Cross Foundation ("CRCF") and Dr. Junshi Chen, an academic at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and General Advisor to the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, for their outstanding contributions to the promotion of scientific research into dietary health over the past decade. Professor Yang pledged to partner with Yum China to conduct high-quality research into these topics and to advance the understanding of nutrition and healthy diets in China.

In a keynote speech, Dr. Junshi Chen noted that the Foundation's goals are aligned with government initiatives including Healthy China 2030 and the National Nutrition Plan 2017-2030, which are designed to raise the level of health literacy and improve the diets and health of Chinese people.

This is the 10^th annual nutrition symposium that Yum China has hosted. In 2007, Yum China and the CRCF established the KFC China Health Foundation. In May 2017, Yum China partnered with the Chinese Nutrition Society, China's top professional organization dedicated to the research and application of the healthy nutrition practices, to form the CNS-Yum China Dietary Health Foundation. The newly formed Foundation will continue the work that was started by the KFC China Health Foundation.

Alice Wang, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs of Yum China, said, "It has been an honor to collaborate with the Chinese Red Cross Foundation over the past 10 years to expand the breadth and depth of nutrition and dietary research in China. Through our new partnership with the Chinese Nutrition Society, we look forward to building on this foundation and making an even greater contribution to nutrition research and education in China."

In addition to supporting groundbreaking research in the fields of nutrition and health, Yum China has also actively advocated nutrition education. Over the past two years, KFC China has leveraged its extensive restaurant network to share essential nutrition and health knowledge with consumers to support the Chinese Nutrition Society's 'National Nutrition Week' campaign. In 2017, thousands of KFC China restaurants provided paper tray mats that communicated essential nutrition information - reaching over 50 million customers. Yum China has also launched various signature initiatives, including the "KFC 3x3 Basketball Championship", aimed at encouraging people to lead active, healthy lifestyles.

Yum China is also committed to tackling issues of malnutrition among children in poverty-stricken regions in China. Now celebrating its 10^th year, Yum China's One Yuan Donation program, founded in partnership with the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, has raised over RMB 170 million, provided over 35 million nutritional meals and funded 840 "Love Kitchens", benefiting more than 500,000 children across ten provinces in China.

About Yum China Holdings, Inc.

Yum China Holdings, Inc. is a licensee of Yum! Brands in mainland China. It has exclusive rights in mainland China to KFC, China's leading quick-service restaurant brand, Pizza Hut, the leading casual dining restaurant brand in China, and Taco Bell, which opened its first restaurant in China at the end of 2016. Yum China also owns the Little Sheep and East Dawning concepts outright. Yum China is well positioned for growth thanks to its strong competitive position, integration of its brands into Chinese popular culture and consumers' daily lives, expanding geographic footprint in China and existing operational expertise. It has a strong capital position, no external debt and expects to continue growing its system sales and profit by adding new restaurants and through growing same-store sales. Yum China had more than 7,700 restaurants and more than 420,000 employees in over 1,100 cities at the end of August 2017. A new generation of younger consumers who are digitally sophisticated and brand driven are fueling growth in consumption in China. The ongoing growth of the middle class and urban population in China is expected to create the world's largest market for restaurant brands, with Yum China poised to be the market leader.

Yum China Media Contacts:

Forest Liu, Director, Finance Media, at +86 21 2407 7505
Anne Bark, Brunswick Group, at +86 21 6039 6388

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SOURCE Yum China Holdings, Inc